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Flour substitutions for gluten free cooking

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Gf-Zing! received the following questions about flour substitutions from a reader named Melissa:

I’ve read that as a substitute for wheat flour in a recipe that you can use chickpea flour for a substitute in a 1:1 ratio without any further changes to the original recipe. This seems too easy – do you know if this is true?

Here’s our answer: Chickpea flour can be substituted for wheat flour 1:1 for dusting meats that are going to be fried, but it has a pretty beany flavor so it is not the right choice for substituting in baked goods. We would not use large amounts of chickpea flour in baked goods because of this beaniness.

 

For frying meat, you might also try using mochiko flour (this is sweet rice flour), especially for making something like Coq Au Vin for which the flour is a vital thickening agent in the sauce.

I’ve also read that 1 cup of the following (after mixed very well) equals 1 cup of all-purpose flour, is this also true and how does it taste? 1 cup of cornstarch or arrowroot, 3 cups of rice flour, 3 cups of potato starch flour, ½ cup soy flour


Here are some effective flour mixes for various baking projects.  Gf-Zing! prefers the following general mix (except for pies), and if we are making a cake we add extra xantham gum to the batter:

General Flour Mix

  • 2 cups plain brown rice flour
    2 cups plain white rice flour
    1 1/2 cups sweet brown rice flour (this is a different kind of rice flour – you could also use sweet white rice flour – also called mochiko)
    1 1/3 cups tapioca starch or tapioca flour
    2/3 cups GF corn starch
    1/2 cups rice bran or rice polish
    2 teaspoons xanthan gum

For Pie Crust:

  • 1/2 cup tapioca flour (tapioca starch)
    1/2 cup cornstarch
    1/4 cup potato starch (katakuriko in Japanese stores – this is NOT the same as potato flour)
    1 cup sweet rice flour (mochiko flour – not the same as white rice flour)
    1 teaspoon xanthan gum
    1/2 tsp salt
    1/2 teaspoon sugar

For Cupcakes:

  • 1/4 cup tapioca flour (flavorless variety)
  • 1/4 cup potato starch (katakuriko)
  • 3/4 cup brown rice flour
  • 2 Tablespoons pure powdered egg white

For Biscuits and Cinnamon rolls that use baking powder and baking soda for leavening agents:

  • 1/4 cup potato starch
  • 3/4 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup brown rice flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons Xantham gum

 

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free. Mix all the ingredients together in a large container or bag. Use as much as you need for your recipe. Store the rest.

Hope this helps!

 

 

Lamb Steaks with Herbs and Lemon

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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.

Helpful Spanish Website

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A helpful reader has sent an email to gfzing@gmail.com with a new link for the Spanish recipes section, since the old Recetas sin Gluten: Aptas para Celiacos was no longer working.  The link has been changed.  Thanks to alert readers for their assistance!

Gluten Free Squash Muffins with Cranberries

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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!

Applesauce Muffins – gluten free

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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.

* If by chance you do not have any ready-made applesauce, you can make your own with a couple of apples. Poke several holes in the apples with a fork.  Microwave the apples on the setting you use for baking potatoes, until they are cooked through. Cool them so that you can peel them without burning yourself.  Remove the soft apple from the peel, discard the seeds and core, and mash away.  That’s it!

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

Other muffins you might like:

Gluten Free Pumpkin Muffins

Coconut Almond Muffins

Bev Lieven’s Donut Muffins

Donut Muffins (lower refined sugar recipe)

Banana Maple-Pecan Muffins

Fish in Rice Wrapper

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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.

Rice Pudding in the Zojirushi Rice Cooker

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This nice rice pudding from Gf-Zing! has large grains of rice and tart cherries to offset the sugar. The recipe is not cloyingly sweet, and is quite attractive because of the large grains of rice.

In the rice cooker, put 3/4 cup of Arborio rice, 4 cups of non-fat milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 cup of dried cherries and 2 Tablespoons of slivered almonds. Set the menu to Porridge, close the top and turn on the cooker.

When the cooker switches to “keep warm,” beat 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of almond extract and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon extract in a large bowl. Add the hot, cooked rice mixture to the egg mixture, about a soup spoon at a time, and beat well with a large spoon after each addition. The reason for adding a little of the hot rice at a time is so that the egg will not cook suddenly – if it did, it would make a sort of rice pudding with hard-boiled egg bits in it – Yuck! If you add the rice a bit at a time and stir vigorously after each addition, then you will get a nice creamy rice pudding.

After this mixture cools, serve it in small bowls with heavy cream to pour over each serving. You may have to do a little counter-top clean up, if the milk comes out through the vent holes in the top of the cooker during the cooking process. We had to clean up this milky mess, but we didn’t mind because the rice pudding was so tasty!

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

Gluten Free Turkey Dressing (stuffing)

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A few thoughts on gluten free Thanksgiving dining…the first year, we felt obligated to pursue some type of exact replica of glutenated turkey dressing – and were disappointed by many expensive and wasteful batches of dressing with the consistency of wet kitty litter.  We eventually made something good – but –  the second GF year, a relative made an excellent wild rice and mushroom dressing – better than good. A new pathway for gluten free Thanksgiving dining!  And, with the wild rice being native to North America it seemed very fitting somehow.
To find the recipe for Wild Rice Stuffing with Wild Mushrooms, buy some dried pears and seek the recipe here:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/105886

That dressing turned our minds around, and this year we will consider using a butternut squash risotto, along the lines of the one in the Bistro Cooking at Home by Hamersley.  Hamersley’s butternut squash ristotto is made with maple syrup, rosemary, sherry and sherry wine vinegar, along with cubes of butternut squash. We sometimes use shallots, and sometimes onions and garlic. The flavors are nicely balanced, with plenty of “umami” or fifth taste flavor as well, even if you cut the amount of butter in half.

We heartily recommend using a rice dressing (or stuffing) for the gluten free turkey dinner, and making it in a separate dish rather than stuffing it in to the bird.

Update for 2010: You can also use Against the Grain rolls for making any normal stuffing recipe.  If you like, you can use a mixture of half Udi’s Bread and half Against the Grain Rolls.  Cut the rolls, or the rolls and bread, in to large cubes and toast in the oven for 20 minutes at 325.  The Against the Grain rolls will maintain their structural integrity and stand up to the liquids in the dressing, while the Udi’s bread will disintegrate somewhat.  The combination of the two textures works well together.

Chicken Meatballs with Raisins (gluten free)

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Meatballs:

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, minced fine

1 medium onion, minced fine

1/2 cup raisins

2 Tablespoons beaten egg

4 Tablespoons coarsely grated fresh parmesan cheese

3 Tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 teaspoon Vietnamese hot sauce

salt, pepper

2 Tablespoons or more of cornstarch

Mix all ingredients for meatballs, adding more cornstarch if necessary to make a soft mixture that will just barely hold together to form meatballs. Make walnut sized balls, roll each ball in garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour. Fry the meatballs in a few tablespoons of peanut oil in a hot skillet a few at a time. When they are browned on all sides, remove them to a plate and set them aside. Fry additional meatballs in this manner until they are all browned. Then leave them to sit for a few minutes while you make the sauce. They are not yet completely cooked and are not safe to eat until they have cooked in the sauce that you will make next.
Sauce:

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, minced

1/4 cup minced fresh Italian parsley

1 Tablespoon brandy

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon dried oregano

28 ounces crushed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon salt

pepper

Fry the garlic and onion in 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a 12 inch non-stick skillet set over medium heat. Deglaze the pan with the brandy (add the brandy and stir around to loosen anything that is stuck to the pan). Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Taste the sauce for sweetness, salt etc.
Now place the meatballs in the sauce carefully. There should be enough meatballs to make one layer on the top of the sauce. Stir very gently with a wooden spoon or bamboo spatula to settle the meatballs in to the sauce – do not break up the meatballs. Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring every five minutes or so. Because of the garbanzo bean flour that was used to coat the meatballs prior to frying, the sauce will become quite thick – watch that it does not stick. Taste the sauce and adjust as necessary.

Serve over Tinkyada brown rice penne. (Cook the penne according to package directions, but check if it is cooked before the time is up – this pasta can cook quicker than the package states. Rinse the penne in cold water, then return to the pan and stir in 1 Tablespoon of olive oil to keep it from sticking together. )

This recipe was adapted for the gluten-free community by Gf-Zing!, and was based on a Turkey Meatball recipe called Polpette alla Mollie which was found on the internet.

Muffin Madness – the GF muffin Round-up

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Here you will find gluten free muffin recipes that will make your breakfast choices so much more interesting! A gluten-free thank you goes out to everyone who contributed a muffin recipe.

A sampling of recipes from friendly muffin enthusiasts follows. To contribute others, please send an email to gfzing@gmail.com.

Donut Muffins Bev Lieven of Milwaukee Celiac-Sprue Crew sends in the following recipe for the ever elusive gluten-free replacement for America’s favorite deep-fried temptation – the donut. She notes: “Cake donuts were my favorite prior to my diagnosis in 1981…This recreates the taste and texture without the mess of frying.”

Combine:

2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups gluten free flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum (opt.)


Mix in blender: 1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1/3 c. melted margarine
1 tsp. vanilla

Add to dry ingredients. Mix to moisten. Fill lightly “Pam-ed” muffin tins half full. Sprinkle w/ cinnamon sugar (Mix 1 c. sugar, 1 tsp.or more ground cinnamon.) Bake at 375º for 15-20 min. Makes about 1 dozen.

(Bev notes: I use non-stick muffing pans without paper liners so the edges of the muffins get crisp.)


BANANA MAPLE-PECAN MUFFIN

Theresa Brandon of Eastern Iowa Celiac’s Connect contributed the following recipe with this note: “This is the tastiest muffin recipe I have found or made. It is super moist and filling. Great with a cup of fruit for breakfast. Freezes well and is portable. And it is BIG! “

FILLING:
3 ripe Bananas, mashed
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Mix and set aside

TOPPING:
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup maple syrup
Mix to get crumbly texture

MUFFINS:
2 cups GF flour mix(I use GF pantry French bread and pizza mix for mine)
1 tsp. zanthan gum
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 Tbls. buttermilk powder
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water

Combine all dry ingredients. Make a well in the center, pour in wet ingredients. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

Gently fold in filling mixture. Cut in with knife. Spoon into muffin cups.

Add topping mixture.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Makes 15 large muffins.

Blueberry Coffeecake Gluten Free

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This recipe for a beautiful blueberry crumb coffeecake was developed for the Gf-Zing! website, which celebrates flavor in the gluten free world.

Make topping:

Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup softened butter, 1/3 cup Gluten Free Cookie Flour or GF pancake mix, 1 teaspoon cinnamon – mix thoroughly and set aside.

Batter:
Cream together:

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon xantham gum
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Add 2 cups Gluten Free Cookie Flour

Then stir in 1/2 cup milk.

Stir the batter thoroughly, then add 2 cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries and stir gently just to mix. If you mix too hard, the batter will turn blue throughout. If the blueberries are still frozen that is ok.

Spoon the batter into a greased, lined (use parchment paper to line the bottom), 8×8 or 9×9 inch pan. Sprinkle reserved topping on the top. Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes. Stick a knife in to the middle and if the knife comes out clean the cake is done.

Serve warm or cold.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free.

Raspberry Crumb Coffeecake

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Grease an 8 or 9 inch spring-form pan with removable bottom.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Make crumbly topping and reserve. Mix 4 Tablespoons butter, 1/4 cup gluten free cookie flour mix, 1 teaspoon gluten free cinnamon, and 1/4 cup sugar until crumbly. Set aside.

In your food processor, mix until smooth:

1/4 cup butter
2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add and mix until smooth:

1 egg
6 Tablespoons milk
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

In a bowl, mix:

1 1/4 cups gluten free cookie flour mix
1 teaspoon xantham gum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Add to the wet mixture and mix thoroughly.

Spread half of the dough on the bottom of the prepared pan. Then cover this dough layer with 1/2 cup of raspberry preserves, spread thinly. Top this with the rest of the dough mixture, spreading it carefully over the preserves. Now sprinkle the reserved crumbly topping on the top.

Bake the coffeecake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or so, depending on the size of the pan, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove it from the oven, run a knife around the sides and remove the sides. Serve warm or cool.

This recipe is based on a recipe from Cooking Light magazine, and adjusted for gluten free cooking by Gf-Zing!

Make sure to use all gluten-free ingredients!

Coconut Almond Muffins – gluten free

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Preheat oven to 350, and line 10 muffin cups with paper liners.

Despite the unlikely looking list of ingredients, these muffins turn out great! The recipe is from the Gf-Zing! website.

Stir together the dry ingredients in a large bowl:

1 1/2 cups almond meal
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
1/2 teaspoon Authentic Foods powdered gluten-free vanilla
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Add the following liquid ingredients and stir well with a fork:

2 Tablespoons extra light olive oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 large eggs
(if you don’t have powdered vanilla, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract here)

Put a heaping tablespoon of dough in each of ten paper liners (the dough will not quite come up to the top of the liner.)

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffin comes out clean. The muffins will rise, and they will get brown on the top.

Eat the muffins while they are still warm, with some sweet butter and a cup of decent coffee. Enjoy your muffins!

Make sure all the ingredients are gluten-free!

Creamy Tarragon Salad Dressing

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This dressing is excellent on Boston Lettuce, especially in the spring when the tarragon is just starting to sprout new shoots. The recipe was developed for the Gf-Zing! website, which celebrates flavor in the gluten free world.

Mix in a bowl:

1/3 cup gluten free mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon snipped fresh chives
1 teaspoon snipped fresh tarragon (or more)
sugar to taste

For the sugar, only add this by 1/4 teaspoon amounts until the flavor of the dressing is balanced. If the lemon is not very sour, there will be no need for the sugar.

Set the dressing aside for 20 minutes or a half hour before serving – this will allow the chives and tarragon to flavor it up!

You can add coarsely grated carrots, steamed or roasted asparagus, chopped walnuts, raisins or diced hard-boiled eggs to this salad.

Gluten Free Empanadas

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Empanadas are delicious! And, for Gf-zing! they are one of the holy grails of gluten free cooking – we seek to make a dough that will encase the meat filling and be dry but intriguing, and not quite like pie crust. We have found a way to do this by using the Breads from Anna mix (without the yeast), and the traditional white wine and olive oil that make the interesting and tasty-flavored crust. The recipe was developed by Gf-Zing! , which celebrates flavor in the gluten free world.

The many ingredients and spicy flavors of empanadas are delightful, and the empanadas can be carried like a sandwich, for lunch, backpacking or picnics. We find that our friends always want the recipe but are sometimes appalled by the list of ingredients – raisins, cheese, allspice, cayenne pepper, meat – it is a medieval list of ingredients, but SOOOOO good!

Dough:

3 1/2 cups Breads From Anna mix (Soy and Rice free kind), but don’t include the yeast packet
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup olive oil
1 egg

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl. You will have a little bread mix left in the bag, which you should save for the filling and rolling. In a second bowl, mix the milk, white wine, oil and egg, then add to the dry ingredients. Knead (yes, knead) the dough until it is like pie crust in texture. Cover the bowl until you are ready to fill the empanadas, as this dough dries out quickly. As you work with the dough, you may need to add extra white wine, a teaspoon at a time, if the dough starts to dry out.

Filling:

Fry the following ingredients in a non-stick skillet, just until the meat is cooked:

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound ground beef, chicken or gluten free turkey
1/2 of a green bell pepper, minced
2 Tablespoons garlic, minced

Then add and stir-fry briefly:

1/3 cup golden or brown raisins
1/4 cup chopped olives (green ones stuffed with pimientos, or black ones in brine but not oil-cured)
1 1/2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon Breads from Anna mix (see dough, above)
1 3/4 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Take the pan off the heat, and add:

1 cup packed grated Jack or cheddar cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (we wash it and snip with scissors)

The mixture will be damp but not soupy. Set aside.

To make the empanadas:

Preheat the oven to 350-375 degrees

Take a walnut sized piece of dough and squish it in your hands to compact it. Put a piece of waxed paper on the table, sprinkle with leftover Breads from Anna mix, and put the walnut-sized ball of dough there. Top with another sheet of waxed paper, then use a rolling pin to roll the ball of dough into a circle of 4″ diameter. Take off the top sheet of paper. (This method of rolling the dough yields very little mess to clean up!)

Place 1 Tablespoon of filling on the bottom half of the circle of dough, then fold the top half down to cover the filling, and squish the edges together to form a half-moon shaped turnover, completely encasing the filling. Place the filled empanada on a Silpat lined baking sheet. Repeat this process 23 more times or so – the recipe will make approximately 24 empanadas. Leave an inch between the empanadas, as they expand some while baking.

Once you have a sheet full of empanadas, bake them for 12-20 minutes. Take a look at them after 12 minutes, and let bake for additional time if needed. We prefer them slightly browned.

Serve warm, or put them in the refrigerator and use them for packing a lunch box or going backpacking.

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

Sweet and Sour Tofu “Meatballs”

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This recipe was developed by Gf-Zing! , which celebrates flavor in the gluten free world.

1 pound block of firm tofu, crumbled and drained

Mix in:

1 1/2 Tablespoons gluten free Honey Roasted Peanut Butter
3 Tablespoons gluten free soy sauce
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
8 scallions, minced
1/2 cup fresh or soaked dried shitake mushrooms, chopped fine
1 cup green pepper, minced
2 gluten free french rolls or 3-4 gluten free hot dog rolls, crumbled
freshly ground black pepper

Mix all of the above ingredients thoroughly, form into walnut sized balls, roll in garbanzo bean (chickpea) flour, and fry in 1/2 inch of peanut oil in a heavy-bottomed pan on high heat or non-stick pan on medium-high heat. The balls will brown so that they look like a meatball on the outside. When you cut in to the tofu balls, they will be light colored on the inside.  If you roll the balls in rice flour they will shed a nasty grit in to the frying oil, then the grit will burn and the meatballs will have a ghostly pallor on the outside. Use garbanzo bean flour for rolling the tofu balls!

Set the cooked tofu balls aside on paper towel on a plate to drain the frying oil away.

Sauce:

Mix all of the following in a saucepan:

1 1/2 cups unsweetened pure pineapple juice
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider or rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon Vietnamese hot garlic sauce
freshly ground black pepper

Whisk the mixture so there are no lumps. Bring to a boil, stirring all the while. When thick, it is ready. Add 1 drained can of pineapple chunks and heat through.

The tofu balls are more delicate than meatballs. To serve the tofu balls place some on each dinner plate and spoon sauce and pineapple chunks on each serving. If you add the tofu balls to the sauce all at once, the presentation will not be as nice, they will soak up the sauce and they will be hard to retrieve intact.

Note: one large can of pineapple chunks yields quite a lot of juice.  You can use the juice from the chunks as part of the 1 1/2 cups of juice.

Serve them with rice, and steamed broccoli.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

Mustard Greens with Garlic, Golden Raisins and Anchovy

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This recipe was developed by Gf-Zing! , which celebrates flavor in the gluten free world.

Clean a bunch of mustard greens by immersing in cold water, remove the center tough ribs and slice the leaves crosswise. Set aside.

In a no-stick skillet, fry until lightly browned:

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium shallot, chopped

Add the cleaned and prepared mustard greens
and stir fry until wilted, about 3-4 minutes.

When the greens are wilted, add:

2 Tablespoons of golden raisins
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 anchovy , rinsed and minced
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or Korean red pepper
coarse salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper

Adjust the seasoning with a little lemon juice, or not, stir thoroughly and serve with roasted poultry dishes.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free, and omit the butter is making dairy free as well.

White Beans, or Flageolets Baked with Thyme

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This recipe was developed by Gf-Zing! , which celebrates flavor in the gluten free world.

2 cups dried flageolet (preferred) or small white beans, cooked and drained – the beans swell up when soaked and cooked – there will be 6 cups of beans, cooked

2 small onions, chopped
8 baby carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tablespoons butter or oil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne or Korean red pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt (or a couple of anchovies, rinsed and minced)
14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
2 cups homemade gluten free chicken broth

Grease a large casserole dish (with lid) and place the cooked beans inside. Make the sauce:

Fry the onions and carrots in the butter or oil until lightly browned. Add the garlic, cayenne pepper, pepper, thyme and salt (or anchovies), and stir fry for a few minutes until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and broth.

Pour this sauce over the beans in the casserole. Stir gently to mix, put on the top and bake the casserole, covered, in a 350 degree oven for one hour or until done. Remove the lid towards the end of the cooking to evaporate some of the liquid. The beans should have the consistency of baked beans – not too soupy.

Serve with lamb chops, grilled, or a roast turkey or chicken.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free!

Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix

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This review is by Gf-Zing! , which celebrates flavor in the gluten free world.

At first we were skeptical about chocolate chip muffins, but forged ahead after assurance from the teenagers that chocolate chip muffins are a good thing! The Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix from Authentic Foods is easy to mix up and bake – from bag to cooling rack in 30 minutes.

The generous chocolate chunks included in the mix are large and they taste like chocolate – this may seem like a silly thing to say, but sometimes chocolate chips made for the allergy market taste like nothing – not sure why that is, but that is a fact that will be confirmed by world-weary gluten-free consumers. In contrast, the chocolate chunks that the Authentic Foods company uses in their chocolate chip muffins are nice and flavorful.

We made the muffins including the optional 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon mentioned in the directions, and tried the muffins warm, and they were good warm, but we prefer them the next day, with a cup of coffee (we added a half teaspoon of cinnamon to the coffee grounds during the brewing). After drying out over night (left uncovered on the counter where the dog couldn’t get them,) all rice-i-ness disappears, and the muffins acquire a chewy quality that adds an extra dimension of interest, while the plentiful chocolate chunks combine nicely with the hot coffee. After a second day, kept in a Ziploc bag, they still provided an excellent breakfast with hot coffee. Love those big chocolate chips!

A Gf-Zing! recommended product.

Note: Here at Gf-Zing! we do not verify the gluten-free status of any product. We rely on the manufacturers to declare the status of their products. It is up to the reader to check labels, and to verify that the products they consume are safe for them to use.

Lemon Almond Pound Cake – gluten free!

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This recipe was developed by Gf-Zing! , which celebrates flavor in the gluten free world.

When using non-wheat flours, cooks have to up the ante on flavorings. Here, the lemon extract in the original recipe is enhanced with fresh lemon zest, vanilla and some salt.

In a food processor, using the chopping blade, whir together:

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
grated zest of 1 lemon

Add and whir it some more until smooth:

1 stick butter
1/2 cup full fat cream cheese (use half of an 8 ounce package)
1 teaspoon lemon extract (we used a lemon extract with a base of sunflower oil)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or less if using Authentic Foods powdered vanilla)
1 teaspoon baking powder

Add one at a time and whir until smooth:


5 large eggs

Lastly, add 2 cups of almond meal, and keep mixing until smooth and combined. Scrape down the sides as necessary to make sure everything is mixed together.

Grease and line a 9″ spring-form pan with parchment paper, then grease the paper. Pour the mixture immediately into the prepared pan. The batter will have the consistency of thick pancake batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. The cake will not rise a great deal. Let cool for ten minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack.

If you use a bundt pan, you may find that this is a challenging cake to remove from the pan.

Make sure all your ingredients, including the cream cheese, are gluten free!

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

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This hearty, gluten free sandwich bread recipe includes cinnamon and currants. It is outstanding for chicken salad or grilled cheese sandwiches – very similar to a whole wheat bread. This recipe was developed by Gf-Zing! , which celebrates flavor in the gluten free world.

In one bowl, mix and set aside:

3 large eggs
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup extra light olive oil
1 1/4 cups very warm water
1 package fast-rising gluten-free yeast
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup dried currants

In a mixer bowl, combine:

1 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 cup rice bran
1/4 cup dark buckwheat flour (buckwheat is not wheat)
1/4 sweet brown rice flour or mochiko
1/2 cup potato starch (different from potato flour)
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 Tablespoon xantham gum
1 Tablespoon gluten free cinnamon (it sounds like a lot, but 1 Tablespoon is correct)
3 Tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 or 2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup buttermilk powder

Oven at 350. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper and grease the paper.

Combine the mixtures from the two bowls. Mix well – the dough will become the consistency of a thick muffin batter. Dump it into the prepared pan, and smooth out the surface with a rubber spatula. Set the pan aside in a warm place until the dough is risen to the level of the top of the pan (doubled), which can take one and a half to two hours. Bake for 60-80 minutes until the bread reaches an internal temperature of 205-210 degrees. Allow to cool for 30 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack and cool completely before slicing.

This bread can be sliced quite thinly (1/4-1/3 inch). When the loaf is completely cool, slice it and store the slices in bags in the freezer to be removed individually as needed for toast or sandwiches. The currants add a nice tangy flavor to chicken salad sandwiches or grilled cheese sandwiches.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free.

Cranberry Orange Walnut Quick Bread

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It is up to the individual to decide whether they can eat oats or not. To eat oats or not is a controversial issue in the gluten free world. Please research the oat issue carefully for yourself, and decide what you want to do in consultation with your healthcare professional. If you are feeding a gluten-free guest, please inquire whether they eat oats or not. You may substitute dried coconut for the oats in this recipe. This recipe was developed by Gf-Zing! , which celebrates flavor in the gluten free world.

2 cups gluten free cookie flour
1 cup rolled quick or old-fashioned gluten free oatmeal, uncooked or oat substitute
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Authentic Foods powdered gluten free vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon xantham gum

3/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 eggs
1/3 cup extra light olive oil
grated zest of one orange
3/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix the first 8 ingredients in one bowl, and mix the second 7 ingredients in a second bowl. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and grease again. Flour the pan lightly with mochiko (sweet rice flour).

Combine the contents of both bowls and stir briefly just until thoroughly blended. Spoon the dough in to the prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and ten minutes. When a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, the bread is finished.

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool on a rack for one hour. Turn the bread out of the pan and let cool completely before serving.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free, and investigate the oat issue and the source of the oats and ask your medical professional for their advice regarding this topic before eating oats.

Batter Fried Fish – gluten free!

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One of the most popular postings on the Gf-Zing! website is this method of making batter for frying fish.  It originally comes from Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian Cooking book. She uses cornstarch and chickpea flour, which yields a much nicer fried fish than any wheat flour will do. The batter is excellent for hake, cod, scallops etc. Cut larger firm-fleshed fish filets (skinless) in to 2 x 1 inch pieces. The recipe for the batter can be halved.

You marinate the fish in seasoning to flavor it, then dip it in batter, then fry and serve.

Seasoning for 2 pounds fish or scallops (marinate in this mixture for 2 hours):

1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1-2 jalapenos, minced (omit if you don’t like spicy food)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (or 1/4 teaspoon table salt)
pepper
juice of 1/4 lemon

Alternative seasoning:

Sprinkle the fish liberally with a few teaspoons of a spice mixture of your choice, for example (the following makes a lot of extra spice mixture):

1 teaspoon of gluten free cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon of fresh ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon gluten free paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons dried EACH thyme and oregano
1 Tablespoons gluten free garlic powder
2 Tablespoons kosher or sea salt

The batter:

3/4 cup corn starch
3 Tablespoons chick pea flour (store this in the freezer)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or other seasoning
1 teaspoon coarse salt (or 1/2 teaspoon table salt)
1 Tablespoon gluten free baking powder
3 Tablespoons peanut oil
2 large eggs
3 Tablespoons cold water

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the wet ingredients and stir until smooth. Dip pieces of seasoned hake, cod or whole scallops in the batter and fry in very hot oil (2″ deep) until golden brown. If you use a deep fryer, the result will be superior.

Make sure all your ingredients are gluten free.